Rock drill feeding mechanism



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1N VENTOR. 671 862238010 hstw G. c. PEARSON ROCK DRILL FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Iarch 5, 1938 T MI I I I I. N QM W\ I\ \N. I I I I I I I I m N m WW \rm/ I I W I I I I M mN Oct. 29, 1940.

Oct. 29, 1940. c PEARSON 2,219,563

ROCK DRILL FEEDING MECHANISM Filed March 5, 1958 Y s'neets-she'et 2 Y A 6a 68 Y & w

' EXHAlET INVENTOR. a ea'rson G 29. 9 G. c. PEARSON aocx DRILL FEEDING MECHANISM Filed larch 5, 1938 gs Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. Cfieansan 7 ATTORNEY.

This invention relates Patented Oct. 29, 1940 Gustav 0. Pearson, Denver, Gardner-Denver Company,

poration of Delaware 0010., assignor' to Quincy, 111., a cor- Application March 5 1938, Serial No, 194,149

I to improvements in rock drills and is more particularly directed to means for automatically feeding such drills to and from the work.

The object of the present invention is to provide novel and efficient means, entirely remote from the drilling unit, capable of. feeding the unit to and from its work.

Another object of the invention is to provide fluid'actuated means under full control of'the operator for moving a drilling unit longitudinally 'upon its support. I

Still another object of the invention is to provide fluid operated means for moving a rock drill upon its support, said means being adapted to move the drill in any longitudinal direction, to lock the drill against movement, and to permit the manual movement of the drilling unit.

Another object of the invention is to provide automatic feeding means for a drill operable at .such periods asto insure the correct striking relation between the drillhammer and the steel.

Heretofore in mechanisms of this character it has been the practice toprovide the feeding -me'ans movable with the drilling unit. The present invention differs therefrom in that the feeding mechanism is connected to the support and movement to the unitis transmitted through the usual rotatable feed screw or its equivalent.

With this in mind another object of the invention is to provide a support for a drilling unit having means associated therewith for moving the unit to and from its work.

- Another object of the invention is to provide a support having an element engageable with the drill and fluid actuated means connected to the element for maintaining a continuous feeding action to the drilling unit in any desired direction. I Another object of'the invention is to provide a support having a feeding element engageable with the drilling unit and to which a reciprocating piston is operably connected to continuously transmit rotary motion to the element.

Further objects of the invention will hereinafter appear, and to all of these ends the invention consists of the features of construction, arrangement of parts, and combination of elements, substantially as hereinafter fully described and claimed in the specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a support having positioned thereupon a drilling unit and the'support embodying one example of the feeding device constituting the present invention.

matic valve of any desired structure.

23 Claims. ((11. 1214;

.. Figure 2 is a diagrammatic/view. illustrating the mechanism employed for transmitting rotary motion from a reciprocating piston to. a feeding element forming a part of the support and to which the drilling unit is connected.

Figure. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one'form of an automatic. valve for controlling the movement of the piston in the feeding device.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4. of Figure 1 showing the front ratchet and. pawl mechanism.

Figure 5is a sectional view on the line5-5 of Figure 1 showing the rear ratchet and pawl mechanism. v

Figure 6 is a detailed means for maintaining the pawls in theirselect'ed positions. I 1

Figure l'is a top plan view of a portion of the support showing the usual cone within which the control mechanism for admitting operating fluid to both the drill and the feeding device is positioned, together with manually controlled means for the ratchet engaging pawls. Figure 8 is an end elevation of Figure 7, and 1 Figure 9 is a side elevation showing the control levers positioned within the cone.

Briefly, the invention described hereinafter deals with the provision of a fluid operated mechanism" including a reciprocating piston, said mechanism being mounted'upon the support or guide shell of a rock drill and adapted to'transmit motion to the feed screw for moving the drill to and from its work. It will, of course, be understood that in the'operation of the drill as the steel advances into the rock it is the purpose of the feeding device to automatically feedthe drill forward, maintaining it insucha position with" respect to thework as to insure the proper striking relation of the drill hammer with the steel. In the accompanying drawings the device is shown as operating a feed screw. This is merely one adaptation, forit is readily apparent that motion from the device may betransmitted to the-drill in any'desired mannen.

In the present embodiment the feeding device includes a cylinder mounted upon a guide shell and having therein a reciprocating piston, the movements of which are controlled'by an auto- As shown in 'the drawings, the device is connected to the end of a feed screw and'motion from the piston is transmitted to the feed screw. Associated with the piston are pawl and'ratchet mechanisms whereby the directional rotation of the reciprocatingpiston and ultimately the feed screw view showing the locking might be controlled. It is obvious that these pawls are controlled at the will of the operator instance the guide shell is more or less fabricated and includes the usual cone 6 having anenlarged body portion 7 within which certain control mechanisms are positioned. The body 1' is further provided with upstanding side walls 8 to which are secured by bolts 9 side rails [8 having therein channels I I constituting the in which a rock drill I2 is longitudinally movable. The side rails it are connected at their front ends by a suitablev yoke 53, while the rear ends of the rails are connected by a casting I 4 more particularly hereinafter described. Positioned for rotary movement within suitable bearings mounted within the yoke l3 and the casting I4 is a threaded shaft I5 which lies approximately midway between the rails in and engaged by the .conventional feed screw nut E6 of the drill I2.

Such constitutes in reality a conventional guide shell having a drill mounted thereon.

As shown in Figure 1, the casting,l4 is an elongated body having a depending portion H to which is connected a suitable brace l8 extending from the body portion 7 of the cone 6, thus giving substantial rigidityto the mechanism mounted uponthe end of the casting.

The main body of the casting !4 extends backwardly as indicated at l9 and is provided with an internal bore 20 receiving thereinthe rear end, of the feed screw l5. It will be observed that in the assembly of the device the feed screw I5 is inserted through the bore 28 and that its end forms a part of a three-jaw clutch 2! Positioned in advance of the clutch head 2! and surrounding the feed screw is a thrust bearing 22.

This three-jaw clutch is shown more generally in Figure 2 and engageablewith the head 2| :is a sleeve 23 having a collar 24 at its front end engageable with the front wall of the bore 20. The sleeve 23 is further provided with a reduced bore 25 having formed therein suitable splines 26 engageable by those carried by a reciprocating piston hereinafter described.

This rearwardly extending portion; IQ of the casting I4 is provided with an outstanding flange and fitted thereagainst is a plate 21 forming the end wall of a ratchet chamber 28 contained within a cylindrical body portion 29. Abutting this cylindrical body portion 28 is a second portion 30 of similar exterior shape forming a cylinder 3| within which a piston 32 is adapted to reciprocate. The rear end of this cylinder 3| is closed by a third cylindrical section 33 similar in structure to 28, forming a chamber 34 fora second ratchet mechanism. The open end of the housing section 33 is closed by an end plate 35. The plate 21, sections 29, 30, 33 and the backhead 35 are machined to precision fits and are maintained in correct relation to each other and upon the flange of the casting extension l9 by tie bolts 36 positioned thereabout.

Positioned within the ratchet chambers 28 and 34 are ratchets 31 and 38 each having a hub portion and an elongated sleeve portion formed integral with the ratchet. It will be observed that guideways The ratchet 31 has its hub interiorly fluted to receive the fluted stem 39 of the piston, and likewise the hub of the second ratchet 38 is fluted and engageable with the fluted stem 4!].

The front projecting stem 39 of the piston 32 has formed integral therewith a forwardly extending reduced portion 43 provided with splines engageable with the splines 26 formed within the sleeve 23.

Engageable with the periphery of the ratchet 37 are spring pressed pawls 44 and 45, while the ratchet 38 is similarly engaged by spring pressed pawls 46 and 4 Normally all pawls engage the peripheries of their respective ratchets. However, to control the engagement of certain pawls and ultimately the direction of rotation, there is provided about each ratchet an oscillating ring segment. As an example, the ratchet 31 has positioned thereover a ring segment 48, the ends of which, 'as shown in Figure 4, are bevelled so that they might engage either one of the pawls 44 or, 45 moving it out of engagement with the ratchet and which might also assume a position midway of the two permitting both pawls to engage the ratchet. Likewise, a similar ring segment 49 is positioned over the ratchet 38 and controls the engagement of the pawls 46 and 4,1 therewith.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5 these ring segments are provided on corresponding portions with external racks or the like 58 and 5|,-engaged by gears 52 and 53 carried by an oscillatory control shaft 54. The shaft54 is supported and mounted for movement within the elements forming the housing of the feeding device, one end of the shaft projecting outwardly of the housing and squared or irregular, as indicated at 55, to receive thereover an operating stem 56 extending from the body portion 1 of the cone. This stem 55 is mounted for oscillatory movement within the body portion 1 and has fixed to its end a bevelled gear 51 meshing with a second bevelled gear 58 movable by an operating handle 59.- This oscillatory control shaft moved to any one of three selective positions. To one position whereby the pawls 44 and 46 are thrown out of engagement with their respective ratchets, permitting the pawls 45 and 47 to engage; to a second position whereby the pawls 45 and 41 are thrown out while the pawls 44 and 46 engage; and then to a third position whereby each set of pawls are engageable with their respective ratchet. To maintain the eontrol shaft in any one of these three positions there is provided within one of the elements form ing the housing of the feeding device, particularly between the elements 29 and 38, a socket 6-0 having therein a spring projected plunger Bl, the end of which is adapted to engage either one of three longitudinal slots 62 formed about the axis of the shaft 54.

To control the movement of the motion impartingpiston 32 there is, as previouslyv stated, an automatic valve 63 positioned within a chamthe piston 32, moving the piston 32 approaches the end of its stroke ber 64 formed in the intermediate casting 30 and closed by the sections 29 and 33. Referring to Figure 3 which is a diagrammatic view of the valve mechanism, including the piston 32,

motive fluid enters the valve chamber 64 through a passageway 65. With the valve inthe position as shown motive fluid passes from the valve chamber 64 through a passageway 66 leading to the cylinder 3| impinging upon the rear face of the same forwardly. As

a trip passage 61 is uncovered permitting motive fluid to pass from the cylinder 3| to the front end face of the valve 63 moving the same to the second of its operating positions whereby motive fluid from the supply passageway is permitted to flow through the passageway 68 to the front face of the piston 32 moving the same rearwardly, and in this instance as the piston travels backward a trip passage 69 is uncoveredwhich leads to the rear end face of the valve 63 throwing the valve to the position shown in Figure 3. The mechanism described herein is a conventional one and applicant does not intend to limit himself to the specific valve shown, the idea beof course, understood that movement may be transmitted from the feeding mechanism to the drill in any desired manner.

As previously stated, the body portion 1 of the cone 6 forms not only the main support for the guide shell, but constitutes a housing for several carried by the supply hose 1|,

valve mechanisms controlling the flow of motive fluid to the drill and to the feeding mechanism.

Referring to Figure '1, the body 1 has formed transversely thereof with respect to the longitudinal center of the guide shell a bore 10 one end of which is threaded to receive therein a nipple while the other end of the bore is enlarged and has positioned therein a cone-shapedvalve 12 serving to control the flow of motive fluid from the bore 18 through the port 13 leading to a second transversely extending bore 14. The cone-shaped valve 12 is moved to either a on or an off position by an operating handle 15. The movement of which is limited by stops 16 and 11. The second bore 14 has its end adjacent the port 13 closed, while its other end is threaded to' receive a nipple 18 serving to connect the hose 19 leading to the drill 12. Thus with the valve 12 in the on position motive fluid from'the supply 1| is permitted to pass on to the drill l2, and the operation of the drill being controlled solely by the lever 15. 1

To control the motivefiuid passing to the feeding mechanism, the gear to as being operated by a handle 59, is positioned upon the enlarged end of a second cone valve which forms the connection between the bevelled gear 58 and the operating handle 58. This cone valve 80 has as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 9 a diametrically extending passageway 8| and a second passageway 82. extending at an angle thereto. Connectingwith the .bore 16 and 12 is a passageway 83 the valve 88, and chamber is a secleading to the chamber of also communicating with this ond passageway 84 communicating with'a .suitable pressure regulating valve as shown at 85.

58, previously referred of its stroke, the trip passage Motivefluid after passing through this regulating valve 85 then flows by way of passage'way86 to a tube 81 positioned between the body portion 1' and the casing of the feeding mechanism. Motive fluid flowing through the tube 81 passes to the 3 supply passageway 65, shown in- Figure 3'. Thus it will be observed that with the handle 59 in the position shown in Figure 9 motive fluid is permitted to flow from the bore 10 through the passageway 83, port 8| in the valve 80, passageway iii,

84, pressure regulating valve 85 and then through the passageway 86 to the tube 81, where it is conducted to the supply passageway of the automatic valve as indicated at 65. It will also be observed that when the handle 59 is in the position indicated in Figure 9 the shaft 56-is oscillated through the medium of the bevelled gears 51 and 58 moving the oscillatory shaft 54 which in turn moves the ring segments 48 and 49 to the positions shown in Figures 4 and 5, throwing the pawls 44 and 46 out of engagement with their respective ratchets and permitting the pawls 45 and 41 to engage thus putting the mechanism in such a condition that upon reciprocation of the piston hammer 32 rotary movement is imparted to the feed screw 15 in the direction necessary to feed the drill forward of the guide shell.

After the drill has moved forwardly the distance required and the operator desires to return the drill to the rear end of the guide shell, the valve handle 59 is turned so that the passageways 83 and 86 are directly comiected through the medium of the angle passageway 82 formed within'the valve 88. Thus motive fluid for the return of the drilling unit upon the guide shell is not restricted in any manner whatsoever, the result being that the drill is returned to its rearmost position of the guide shell at a greater speed, This is accomplished by the fact that the return fluid does not pass through the pressure regulating valve. At the same time that the operator throws the valve to a position permitting the quick return of the drill, the shaft 54 is rotated through the bevelled gears, previously referred to, oscillate the control shaft to such a position as to reverse the position of the pawls shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The pressure regulating valve indicated at 85 may be of any desired type. Its purpose being to regulate and hold constant the pressure of the motive fluid passing to the feeding mechanism, particularly when the mechanism is in a position to feed the drill toward the work.

Assuming now that the various parts of the feeding mechanism occupy positions similar to. that shown in Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, whereby the 55 forward movement of the drill is accomplished. With the pawls 44 and 46 thrown out of contact with their respective ratchets andthe pawls 45 and 41 engageable therewith, as the piston 32 reciprocates there is first a tendency for the :60 ratchet 31 to move in a clockwise direction, but inasmuch as this movement is prevented by the pawl 45, the piston 32 and its fluted projection 33 must obviously rotate and it is during this period of rotation, through the medium ofthe' 'fifi splines connecting the reduced extension 43 of the projection 39 with the sleeve 23, that rotary movement is imparted to the feed screw l5 in a direction which causes the drill to move toward its .work. As the piston 32 approaches the end 7 0 81 is uncovered permitting motive fluid to impinge upon one end ofthe automatic valve 63, moving the same to theposition necessary for the return stroke of the piston 32, thus permitting the flow of fluid $75 through the passageway 68 to impinge upon the front face of the piston 32, moving the piston rearwardly. When this occurs there is a tendency for the ratchet 38 to rotate in a clockwise direction, but inasmuch as this is prevented by the pawl 41 the piston and its extensions must therefore rotate, and due to the flutes in a clockwise direction. This rotary movement of the piston being again transmitted to the feed screw 15 through the splines formed within the sleeve 23. Thus it will be observed that a continuous rotary movement is given to the feed screw l5 and that the movementof the piston 32 in both directions serves to supply this rotary movement.

Such movement of the piston continues until the drill l2 approaches the end of its forward run, whereupon the operator reverses the positions of the pawls 44 and 46 with 45 and 4'! so as to permit the return of the, drill to the rearmost position of the guide shell, and by the pawls assuming this new position as the piston reciprocates it'is given rotary movement in a counterclockwise direction which through the medium of the extension 33 and the sleeve 23 is transmitted to the feed screw 15 rotating the same in a reverse direction, the result being that the drill is returned on the guide shell. Thus it will be seen that by the control of the pawls, movement of the drill in any direction may be accomplished.

During some periods of operation it becomes necessary that the drill be locked with respect to its guide shell or in other words be maintained in a fixed relation thereto. To accomplish this all the operator has to do is to move the control shaft 54 to the third of its functioning positions, whereby all pawls are engageable with their respective ratchets. When such occurs it is obvious that the piston 32 is locked against movement and likewise the feed screw.

Should an occasion arise during the operation of the drill, whereupon the operator wishes to move the drill manually upon the support, this may be accomplished by moving the operating lever 59 to either the position necessary for automatically feeding the drill inwardly or the position which permits the withdrawal of the drill from the work. Assuming that the drill has been automatically fed inwardly by the feeding device and the operator desires to withdraw the drill manually, to do this the lever 53 is swung to the position which permits movement of the segments 48 with their coacting pawls as shown in Figures 4 and 5 but to the reverse of these positions. With the parts in this position the drill may be moved manually backwardly. The shaft it of course rotates, and likewise the piston 38, in the same direction as when the drill is automatically returned. Likewise, when the drill is moved forwardly by hand the lever 59 is moved to the position it assumes for such automatic operation.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A rock drill support having a guideway for the reception of a drill, a base carried by the support, a rotatable element extending longitudinally of the support, a fluid actuated motor including a piston fixed to the support, means rotating said piston during its movement, a slidable connection between the piston and element serving to transmit motion from the first to the latter, a second means coacting with the first said means to change the directional rotation of the piston, and a common control element in the base controlling both the flow of fluid to the motor and the rotation of the piston.

2. A rock drill support having a guideway, of a drilling unit slidable therein, a base for the support, a rotatable member extending longitudinally of the support and engageable with the drilling unit, a fluid actuated motor including a reciprocating piston secured to said support, means causing the rotation of said piston during its reciprocation, a slip connection between the piston and the rotatable member for transmitting rotary motion from the-former to the latter, manually actuated means controlling the rotation of said piston and member, and a dual control element carried by the base for controlling the flow of fluid to the motor and the direction of rotation.

3. A rock drill support having a guideway, of a drilling unit slidable therein, a base for the support. a rotatable member extending longitudinally of the support and engageable with the drilling unit, a fluid, actuated motor secured to the support, a reciprocating piston within the motor, means causing the constant rotation of said piston during its reciprocation, a slip connection between the piston and the rotatable member for transmitting rotary'motion from the former to the latter, manually actuated means controlling the rotation of said piston and member, and independent means mounted upon the base controlling the flow of fluid to the rotation of the piston.

, 4. A feed motor including a reciprocating piston, means rotating said piston continuously during its reciprocation, an element deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, and selective control means coacting with the first said means to control directional movement of. the element.

5. A feed motor including a constantly reciprocating piston, means rotating said piston continuously during its reciprocation, a second means deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, and selective means controlling the directional movement of said second means.

6. A feed motor including a reciprocating piston, means serving to rotate said piston during its movement, means deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, and means controlling the direction of rotation.

'7. A feed motorincluding a reciprocating piston, a driving element connected to the piston, means continuously rotating said piston and element during its movement, and a second means controlling the directional rotation of said piston.

8. A feed motor including a reciprocating piston, means rotating said piston continuously during its reciprocations, selective means coacting with the first said means controlling directional rotation of said piston, and a driving element deriving continuous motion from the rotary movement of the piston.

9. A feed motor including a reciprocating piston, means rotating said piston upon each stroke of its reciprocation and in a common direction, selective means coacting with the first said means controlling directional rotation of said piston, andan element deriving continuous rotary motion from the movement of the piston.

10. The combination of a support having guideways anda rock drill slidable therein, a romotor and the directional tatable member mounted on the support and en gageable with the drill, a fluid actuated motor on the support, a reciprocating piston within the motor, means converting reciprocatory motion of the piston to rotary, a' driving element connected to the piston and transmitting rotarymotion from the piston to the rotatable member, and means carried by the support controlling the direction in which the piston rotates.

11. A combination of a support having guideways and a rock drill slidable therein, a rotatable member positioned in the support and engageable with the drill, a fluid actuated motor on the support, a reciprocating piston within the motor, means rotating the piston during its reciprocation, an element transmi ting rotary motion from the piston to the rotatable member, selective means controlling the directional rotation of the piston and member, and manually actuated means mounted upon the support for controlling the flow of fluid to both drill and motor and the directional rotation of thepiston.

12. In a feed mechanism for drills, the cornbination with a guide shell and a drill slidably mounted therein,'of a feed. element engageable with the drill, a support for the element at the rear of the shell, a feed motor mounted upon the support, said motor including a reciprocating piston, means rotating said piston upon its forward and rearward strokes and in a common direction, selective means coacting with the first said.

means controlling directional rotation of the pis-- ton, and an element mounted in the support and .deriving rotary motion from the piston and transmitting the same to the feed element.

13. A feed motor including a piston adapted to make reciprocations of variable lengths, selective means rotating said piston during its movements, an element deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, and said piston being directly connected to the element and continuously rotating the same. during its reciprocations.

14. A feed motor including a casing, a piston movable back and forth within the casing, selective means rotating said piston in a common direction during each of its movements, means rotated by said piston during its movements, and

the first said means functioning on piston movements of unequal lengths.

15. In a feed motor the combination of a reciprocating piston and'a rotatable element, means for continuously rotating said piston during each of its strokes in a common direction, selective means governing the directionin which the piston rotates, and a connection between the piston and element for transmitting continuous rotary motion from the former to the latter,

16. A feeding mechanism for rock drills, in-

cluding a support having a movable element therein, a fluid actuating motor on the support, a reciprocating piston within the motor, means converting reoiprocatory motion of the piston to continuous rotary, selective means controllin the direction of rotation, and'a connection movable within the support for transmitting continuous rotary motion from the piston to the movable element.

1'7. The combination of a drill rotatable member mounted thereima fluid actuated motor on the support, a reciprocating pispiston,

piston in a common support and a transmitting continuous rotary motion therefrom to the rotatable member.

18. A feed mechanism for rock drills, including a guide shell and an element movable with respect thereto, a support for the support, said motor including a reciprocating means rotating said piston upon its forward and rearward strokes in a common direction, selective controlling means ooacting with said means controlling direction of rotation of the piston, and an element mounted on port and transmitting rotary motion from the piston to the movable element.

7 19. A rock drill support having a guideway and a feed member extending longitudinally thereof,

a fluid actuated motor secured to the support, av reciprocating piston within the motor, means causing constant rotation of said piston duringits reciprocation, selective means controlling the direction of-rotation of said piston, and a slip connection between the piston and the feed member for transmitting continuous motion from the piston "to the feed member.

20. A feed motor for rock drills including a piston movable back and forth within a cylinder, means engageable with the piston serving to rotate the same' in a common direction on both movements, a driving element deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, a second means controlling the direction of rotation, and the first said means functioning on piston movements of variable lengths. v I

21. A feed motor for rock drills including a piston movable back and forth within a cylinder, a pawl and ratchet mechanism engageable with the piston serving 'to rotate the same in a common direction on both movements, a driving element deriving continuous rotary motion from the piston, a mechanism controlling the direction of rotation, and. the flrst said mechanism functioning on piston movements of variable lengths.

22. A feed motor piston movable back and forth within a cylinder,

a reversible pawl and ratchet mechanism engage- 'a support having a member movable with respect thereto, a fluid actuated motor on the support, a piston within the motor movable back and forth within certain limits, means serving to rotate the direction on both movements, an element transmitting continuous rotary motion from the piston to the movable member, a mechanism .coacting with the first said means continuous rotary mothe element at the.

, rear of the shell, a feed motor mounted upon 10 I the supfor rock drills including a controlling the direction of rotation, and the first said means functioning on piston movements varying fromthe limits established.-

G sTAv c. PEARSON. 

